Improvement in launching, hauling, and building ways for vessels



'2 '1 A. W. THOMPSON. Sheets Sheet Improvement in Launching, Haufng, and Building 2 Sheets--Sh'eet 2,.

A. W. THOMPSON. improvement in Launching Hauling, and Bending Ways for Vessels.

Patented Aug. 20, 1872.

wam ny 6 UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

AMBROSE W. THOMPSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN LAUNCHING, `HAULING, AND BUILDING WAYS FOR VESSELS.

Specification forming part ofv Letters Patent No. 130,768, dated August 20, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AMBRosE W. THOMP- SON, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new Improvement in Launching, Hauling, and Building Ways; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a plan of the inclined plane and of the grounds and building-ways, with cradles on which to build steamships, steamboats, and other vessels. Fig. 2 represents a sectional view of the same, Fig. 3, a plan of one of the trucks ofthe carriage on which the cradles are moved on the inclined plane; Fig. 4, an elevation of the same, with cradle and vessel in partial section resting on the carriage; Fig. 5, a plan of the hoisting and lowering en ginery; Fig. 6, an elevation of the main drum; Fig.7, an enlarged elevation of thedouble-sheaved pulleys around which the cables are passed; Fig. 8, an enlarged plan of the engine and connected apparatus for moving the cradles FigA 9,v an elevation of the tension-rollers for taking up and coiling away the slack of the cables; and Fig. 10, an enlarged plan of the same.

Similar letters of reference in the accompanying drawing indicate the same parts.

This invention relates to that class of shipyards in which the vessels are builtin slips parallel to the shore, and when finished are hauled out endwise onto a launching-way and launched sidewise into the water and the invention consists in the construction of mechanism for the accomplishment of these purposes, substantially as I will now proceed to describe.

In the drawing, A A are the inclined launching-Ways, and B B are the horizontal buildingways, arranged transversely of the launchingways, and a few feet above their level at the point of intersection, `so thatthe cradles C C, on which the vessels S are built, can be moved onto and oifrom the carriage D, which runs only on the Ways A A. The launchin g-carriage D consists of a suitable frame-work, provided with rails d l and supported upon trucks l, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The method of running the cradles out upon the carriage, and moving them up and down therewith, is shown clearlyin Figs. 1, 2, and 4. The appara-tus for raising and lowering the vessels consists of a v seriesof cables, e e, of metal, hemp, or any other suitable material, a large drum. G a steamengine, or other suitable motor, F, which operatesthe drum; and an apparatus for removing, and, if necessary, for coiling up the slack of the cable. The cables are preferably anchored or secured at or near the upper end of the launching-ways, one at each track, so as to bear any strain that may be brought upon them. Thence they extend down to and around pulleys attached to the carriage; thence back to, and, if preferred, around guide-pulleys a; thence to and around the drum Gr; thence away laterally to and between the pulleys m m,- and thence to the beds or chain-lockers H, where the slack is coiled. The drum is constructed, preferably, with a groove for each cable, as shown in Fig. 6, so that the cables will not override each other, and thereby disturb the uniformity of the draft upon thecradle, but every revolution of the drum will draw up or let out all the cables to precisely the same extent, thereby moving the carriage up and down the incline with perfect uniformity. The engine F operates both the drum and the device for taking up the slack, and a great many modes of construction may be devised to enable it to accomplish both objects properly, all of which I regard as coming within the limits of myinvention. The construction which I prefer, however, is that shown in the drawing, in which the engine is employed to give motion directly to a shaft, I, provided with` two small pinions, t' i', one of which operates the drum mechanism while the other operates thc mechanism for taking up the slack. In Figs.

5 and 6 the pinion t' is represented as gearing with two large whee1s,jj, attached to 'shafts which are each provided with a worm-screw, k, gearing with a pinion, K', upon the drumshaft, and thereby imparting motion tothe drum, while the pinion t" communicates motion to the wheels m m by means of a shaft, M, and bevel-gears m1 m2 m3, as represented clearly in Fig. 10. The devicefor hauling out the cradles C C is represented in Figs. 1 and 8. It consists of a cable, w, secured to one of the cradles, and passing around a pulley, o, so as to draw squarely across the launching-ways, as shown in Fig. 1; thence up to a pulley, o1; thence, preferably, to a pulley, o2,- thence 'other cables.

2 p leones around a drum, 5 thence around a drum or between wheels t driven by the shaft I 5 and thence to the chain-locker, the mechanism for taking up and stowing away the slack being similar in construction and operation to that above described for taking up the slack of the While drawing the cradles out onto the carriage the cables e c are, of course, immovable, and when launching or hauling up the carriage the cables w are disconnected from their cradles, and are motionless. It is necessary, therefore,` that the main shaft I, from which all the power is derived, should be connected to the drums Gr N that move thecables, in such a manner that either can be operated at pleasure without operating the other. lFor this purpose the drum N is driven by means of gearwheels a nl u2 a3, the last being loose on the shaft I 5 and a double sliding clutch, o, is provided for the purpose ot' communicating` the movement of the shaft to the drum and to the slack-winding mechanism simultaneously, or disconnectingthem and stopping their movement whenever desired. In the vsame manner the drum G, or its driving-pinion t', may be made to engage with their respective shafts, so that they can be thrown out ot' gear while the cable w is moving, and thereby hold the carriage stationary while the cradles are running onto or oftl from it. Two cables, fw, must, of course, be used, one extending down on each sidevof the launchil'ig-ways to the buildin g-slip nearest the Water. One of said cables will be employed in hauling the cradles out from the slip, and the other in drawing them back. Only one is shown, the construction and arrangement of the other being a mere duplicate of it. To prevent the ropes or chains from slipping` on the drums or pulleys, the surface of the latter may be corrugated or armed with teeth, if preferred. Pawls and ratchets, for the purpose of preventing the drum G from back movement, may be dispensed with when the worm-screws 7c k are used, the latter being amply sufcient to arrest any such movement of the drum, and prevent accident in case the engine should at any time give out during the operation of launching or hauling up a vessel.

tion. The ordinary sliding clutch, or any other means in general use among mechanics for accomplishing similar purposes, may be employed for throwing any of the shafts and wheeels into or out of gear with each other.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is t -1. In a building or repairing yard having an inclined launching-way, A, and transverse building-ways B B, I claim the arrangement of the launching-ways below the level of the building-ways, and the employment of a carriage, I), of such dimensions that its rails will come in line with the rails c of the cradles when moved opposite thereto, all in combination substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

2. In combination with the ways A B, cradles O, and carriage D, I claim the cables e e and w, the two drums GN, the shaft I, and the devices for throwing either drum into or out of gear with its shaft, substantially as described,

for the purposes specied.

3. I claim the device shown in Fig. 9, in com'- bination with the main shaft I, for the purpose of taking up and stowin g away the slack of the cables, substantially as herein set forth. y

AMBROSE W. THOMPSON.

YVitnesses A. THOMPSON, JUAN PATTrsoN. 

